LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Columbia Borough Police and the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office have filed charges against 30-year-old Columbia man for his alleged role in a deadly crash in the borough in November 2020.
Frederick Kilheffer, of the 200 block of South Fifth Street, has been charged with a single count of homicide by vehicle, according to police and prosecutors.
On November 9, 2020, around 6:19 am, Columbia Borough Police were dispatched to the 100 block of Lancaster Avenue for a reported multi-vehicle crash.
Upon officers' arrival, they found an unresponsive female in a green Chrysler van in the eastbound lane, facing the right curb.
Officers also located Kilheffer's gray Honda Odyssey van halfway in the eastbound lane, facing southeast.
Both drivers were transported to Lancaster General Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained during the collision. Later that day, the female motorist succumbed to her injuries.
The Lancaster County Coroner's Office determined the cause of her death was multiple traumatic injuries due to the collision.
A police reconstruction of the crash revealed there were no roadway defects, weather conditions, or visibility issues that would have contributed to the crash.
Police also spoke to a witness that was driving behind the victim's Chrysler. The witness told police that the victim's vehicle was in its proper lane of travel and "struck so hard that it came back towards him, causing him to put his vehicle in reverse," according to an affidavit of probable cause.
A mechanical safety inspection completed by the investigators on the Honda Odyssey and Chrysler vans showed no mechanical defects that may have contributed to the cause of the collision.
Investigators also reviewed a surveillance video from a nearby business that showed Kilheffer's vehicle traveling westbound and entering the eastbound lane before striking the victim's car nearly head-on.
Kilheffer will face charges of homicide by vehicle, a third-degree felony, and a summary offense of leaving the travel lane.
Columbia Borough Police Officer Holly Arndt filed charges, which Assistant District Attorney Caitlin Blazier approved.
